Apple shopping spree continues with $390M investment in Finisar

It looks like Apple CEO Tim Cook has finally found his wallet, and just in time for the holidays. Following the not wholly unexpected $400 million acquisition of music-identification app Shazam on Monday, Apple has now dipped into its billion-dollar Advanced Manufacturing Fund and infused specialized chipmaker Finisar with a $390 million investment.

Finisar makes specialized chips needed for Apple’s Face ID system, the animoji feature and the portrait tech used in the dual camera setup. So, it’s important tech for Apple going forward. The chiptech Finisar makes is known as “vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers,” and they’re located in Sherman, Texas, just north of Dallas. CNET says the windfall will re-open a plant that was shuttered in 2012 and will bring 500 jobs to the city. To be clear, Apple isn’t buying the company, just heavily investing in it.

Apple made a similar investment into Corning, which makes the Gorilla glass used in every Apple portable device. And for some perspective, if Apple’s $250+ billion dollar cash reserves were just 250 dollars, the investment into Finisar would come to 39 cents. OK Tim, by that measure, Sony is just $55 and Tesla is $57. You should buy yourself both of them for Christmas.

The space opera in space

So Star Wars fans, counting the minutes to Thursday’s wave of midnight showings of The Last Jedi? Hey, we’re right there with ya. But you know who won’t be in line for the latest edition of Lucas’s space opera? People who are actually in space aboard the International Space Station. No worries though, as NASA says the current residents of the ISS will indeed get a screening of Last Jedi while onboard their actual spaceship, which whips around the Earth every 90 minutes.

According to Spaceflight reporter Robin Seemangal, NASA will upload the Death Star plans… er, we mean The Last Jedi movie file at a future date so the crew can enjoy it on a laptop or the station’s video projector. Wait, the ISS has a video projector? Apparently so.

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